


A Test Of Wills

by RocknVaughn



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, M/M, Masturbation, Post-Magic Reveal, Sex Magic, Voyeurism, Wanking Comment Fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-04-02
Packaged: 2017-12-07 06:17:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/745250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RocknVaughn/pseuds/RocknVaughn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I will follow your rules. I’m not going to touch you and I won’t touch myself. As you wanted, you’re going to do all the work as I sit back and watch.” Leaning forward slightly in his chair, Merlin’s voice was low, sexy, and full of promise. “But it will still be the best orgasm you've ever had, Arthur. I’ll still make you scream my name when you come.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Test Of Wills

**Author's Note:**

  * For [La_Temperanza](https://archiveofourown.org/users/La_Temperanza/gifts), [alby_mangroves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alby_mangroves/gifts).



> This began as a fill for the 2013 Wanking Fest started by the brilliant Alby_Mangroves. I had so much fun with this!
> 
> Also, enjoy La_Temperanza! What a fantastic prompt!

 

 

 

 

-o-o-

Merlin crossed his arms across his chest indignantly. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

Arthur, dressed in nothing but his sleep trousers, leaned his weight against the bedpost. “Don’t get what?” he asked drolly, but his eyes flashed, revealing his anger.

“How lucky you are,” Merlin insisted disgruntledly.

Snorting, Arthur pushed himself to a stand and slowly stalked toward Merlin as if he were prey rather than friend, confidant, and lover. “ _Me_? I’m lucky? How exactly am I lucky, Merlin?”

 _Unfair_ , Merlin thought, ripping his eyes unwillingly from the gorgeous expanse of Arthur’s bare chest to stare instead at the floor between Arthur’s toes. Sullenly, Merlin replied, “Because you have _me_ to warm your bed.”

“Really?” Arthur snarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as his march toward Merlin continued. “Well, it doesn’t _feel_ that lucky. How would _you_ feel if you found out that your best friend had been lying to you for years?”

It was true that Arthur had been justifiably upset after discovering Merlin’s secret. While Arthur had spared his life after he had saved all of Camelot with his magic, it didn’t exactly mean Arthur had forgiven Merlin for not telling him in the first place. Arthur had even gone so far as to bar Merlin from his room entirely for several weeks, let alone allow him to fill his bed.

Tonight was the first time that Arthur had let Merlin attend to him at bedtime since their falling out. Merlin highly suspected it was only so that Arthur could torment him…and he had to admit, it was working. But, Merlin was _here_ , and if there was even the smallest chance that Arthur would allow him back into his good graces, he had no intention of squandering it.

“Not that great,” Merlin admitted softly.

“Exactly.” Arthur nodded succinctly. “Then how am I lucky, Merlin?”

“Because you’re bedding a _warlock_ , Arthur. There are certain…advantages to that.”

Arthur grabbed one of the chairs from the table and turned it around so he could sit down facing Merlin. “You mean I _was_ bedding a warlock. One who didn’t trust me with his secret.” Arthur planted his feet in a wide stance meant to draw attention to the junction of his legs where his cock was already tenting the thin fabric.  He ran one palm down it and hissed out a breath of pleasure in response.

“Arthur…” Merlin whined, unable to take his eyes off of the small spot of precome that began to soak through the linen, “Please…”

Arthur reached inside his trousers and grasped his burgeoning erection, the head of it just peeking out from the waistband. “Please _what_ , Merlin?” Arthur’s voice was deep and gravelly.

“Please…Let me…” Merlin took a step toward Arthur, hands outstretched, but Arthur put out his other hand in denial.

“No, Merlin.” Arthur’s hand moved; another stroke…slow and tantalizing. “Just because I’ve pardoned you and changed the laws about magic for you doesn’t mean that I’ve _forgiven_ you…and it _certainly_ doesn’t mean I’d trust you in my bed again. In fact,” Arthur nodded to a chair at the end of the table, “pull up a chair. Have a seat.”

Merlin’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he followed Arthur’s command, pulling out a chair and seating himself facing Arthur.  

“Good,” Arthur said, his voice tinged with grim satisfaction. He pulled the waistline of the trousers down until his prick was exposed from root to tip. Arthur’s other hand slipped inside the linen to cup his balls while he pulled himself –once, twice, thrice—with his other hand. “Now, you will stay there. You will watch, but you cannot touch: me _or_ yourself.”

The choked sound that forced itself from Merlin’s lips was halfway between a groan and a whimper. Merlin knew Arthur was still angry with him, but this punishment was particularly cruel. Arthur knew damn well the torture that this would be for Merlin, because it was a game they used to play: to see how long Merlin could wait before he couldn’t take any more and had to join in. It drove him _mad_ to watch Arthur pleasure himself, and Arthur knew it.

“I _am_ sorry, Arthur. I really am.”

“Sorry you did it or sorry you got _caught_?” Arthur punctuated his question with one long, slow pull on his cock.

Merlin caught his lower lip between his teeth to hold back the moan threatening to escape. “I wanted to tell you; I really did.”

Arthur’s lip curled into almost a sneer as he spit, “Wanted to but _didn’t_. Did you really think that I would have harmed you if you’d told me? You were my _best friend_. No, instead you made me find out about your magic like everyone else when you appeared on the battlements like a damned _avenging angel_ and decimated an _entire army_ of undead.”

“I couldn’t let them harm you…” Merlin choked out, the naked terror from the moment evident on his face and in his voice.

Arthur’s face and voice were hard and unforgiving. “You should have told me.”

“But…I love you…” Merlin blinked back tears as the confession slipped out. He hadn’t meant to tell Arthur that; not now anyway.

The words stunned Arthur into silence for a moment before he shook his head like he was pulling himself from a reverie. “Perhaps…You just didn’t _trust_ me.” His voice was bitter. Slowly, Arthur lifted his right hand from his lap and licked a long, wet stripe into his palm while his left grasped the edge of his chair bottom.

“Arthur…” Merlin gasped breathlessly, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Arthur’s eyes met Merlin’s as he licked a second line of wetness all the way down to the tips of his fingers. “No, Merlin. I want you to see what you’re missing; what you messed up by not trusting me.” Then he wrapped his hand around his rigid cock and began to pull.

Merlin’s eyes were drawn to Arthur’s hand as it moved. Unconsciously, Merlin’s lips parted, his breathing uneven as his heart pounded.

“Arthur…I know I screwed up. I know I hurt you. But please, _please_ let me make it up to you. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”

There was a momentary flicker of weakness in Arthur’s gaze before his face hardened to a mask; one he usually wore when facing the enemy.

His eyes locked on Merlin’s face as his hand moved up and down, slowly and deliberately. “No. I’m not going to let you touch me.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Arthur. I’m a warlock; I don’t _need_ to.”

Arthur snorted in disbelief, but, despite himself, the flare of heat in his eyes gave away his grudging curiosity and interest.

Merlin saw this and decided to press his advantage. “I will follow your rules. I’m not going to touch you and I won’t touch myself. As you wanted, you’re going to do all the work as I sit back and watch.” Leaning forward slightly in his chair, Merlin’s voice was low, sexy, and full of promise. “But it will still be the best orgasm you’ve ever had, Arthur. I’ll still make you scream my name when you come.”

Merlin’s lips curved into a miniscule smile as he watched Arthur shiver and his hand unconsciously grip his prick even tighter at the implication.

“I don’t believe you,” Arthur declared, a reckless expression on his face.

“A challenge then?” Merlin’s face mirrored Arthur’s wildness. He’d never used his magic for such things before…but he also knew that his magic worked best when he simply bent it to his will without an incantation. He could do this; he was sure of it. “You’re on.”

 

 

-o-o-

Determination suffused Arthur’s whole being as he defiantly met Merlin’s stare and began to stroke himself, knowing how insane the watching would drive Merlin. If this was to be a test of wills, then he damn well was going to win it.

It wasn’t until he’d decided upon an actual rhythm that Arthur noticed Merlin’s eyes narrow, glowing with unnatural light. And then he felt it, like a warm breath blowing across the head of his cock. His hand stuttered to a stop for a split second before he resumed his wanking.

The sensation returned, followed by what felt like a tongue swiping across the head of his cock. Arthur hissed in a breath, glared at Merlin, but continued his self-ministration, deliberately refusing to either speed up or slow down. Arthur was determined not to react, no matter what Merlin decided he wanted to do to him. This was about _Merlin’s_ punishment, after all.

What followed was not the sensation of Merlin’s mouth on his prick that Arthur was expecting. Rather it was of a hot breath blown in Arthur’s ear, a tongue tracing the tendon down the side of his neck, a mouth sucking at the base of his throat. Arthur had to fight against the urge to tilt his head to allow for better access as he would normally have done.

Next, it was the soothing slide of Merlin’s slender fingers threading through the hair at the nape of Arthur’s neck while soft kisses trailed down his front, hot breath disturbing the hair on his chest in tiny puffs. The aroma of the herbal soap that Merlin used to wash his hair filled Arthur’s nostrils. While Merlin had not moved so much as an inch from his chair, everything felt so, so _real_ that Arthur could not help but react.  

His eyes fluttered closed for a moment before Arthur realized what he was doing. His eyelids sprang open again and he glared at Merlin, who definitely did not appear unaffected either. While his eyes were still gold, full of the magic he was evoking, his pupils were dilated and his breathing was uneven and shaky, his obvious hard-on trapped against his thigh. Arthur’s heart rate spiked as he wondered whether Merlin’s arousal was due to simply watching what Arthur was doing, or whether Merlin could actually _feel_ the other end of these caresses: Arthur’s hair under his fingers, Arthur’s skin against his lips.

Arthur wasn't quite able to stifle his groan at the simultaneous tweak of both nipples: one caught gently between teeth, the other not-so-gently pinched between thumb and forefinger. The difference in the sensations inflamed him and he subconsciously began to stroke himself faster.

A swift intake of breath drew Arthur’s attention. Across from him, Merlin had his bottom lip wedged between his teeth and beads of sweat lightly dotting his forehead. _Good_ , Arthur thought perversely. _Let him suffer_.

Merlin’s eyes rose from the rapid movement of Arthur’s hand and stared at him. Arthur shivered at the fierce longing evident on the warlock’s face and the ethereal golden glow from his normally cerulean eyes. Something about all that magic focused solely on him made Arthur feel powerful and powerless all at once.

Then, the slide of Arthur’s hand became slicker and exponentially more arousing. Glancing down at himself, Arthur could easily see the sheen of oil now covering his cock. Glancing up in surprise, Merlin simply quirked one wry eyebrow at him as if to say, _Now, who’s suffering_ …

However, Arthur could not deny that the added lubrication felt delicious, especially as Merlin’s phantom tongue flicked against the nub of his erect nipple again and again. Gentle fingertips trailed down Arthur’s belly, slipped underneath the waistband of his sleeping trousers and palmed the weight of his balls.

Arthur could not hold back a moan of delight as those slender fingers squeezed and stroked his balls and the sensitive skin just behind them.  His hand picked up speed again, stripping his cock at an even faster pace as he felt his balls start to tighten.

But then those ghostly fingers moved back and whispered across the sensitive pucker of his hole.

At that, Arthur could not help himself. With a groan, he threw his head back as his eyes slammed shut, a heady thrum filling his ears as his heart pounded furiously against his ribcage. His hand became a blur upon his cock, rubbing up over the head in a twist before stroking his firm grip down its rigid length.

Each stroke brought Arthur closer and closer to his release, but just as he reached the edge where he should have tumbled over…he stalled, hovering in that no-man’s-land between extreme arousal and orgasm.

Grunting in frustration, Arthur’s hand stuttered to a momentary halt. Merlin’s voice pierced the darkness behind Arthur’s eyelids, rough with arousal as he rasped, “Don’t stop, Arthur…” And then, before Arthur’s hand could even start to move, he felt one of Merlin’s phantom fingers breach him.

“Merlin…” Arthur gasped, his tone a warning. But yet, even though he knew the situation was spiraling out of his control, he couldn’t quite bring himself to tell Merlin to stop.

“You’re supposed to be punishing me, remember?” Merlin’s breath came in harsh gasps as he spoke.

“Of course I fucking rememb…ah!” Arthur’s sentence ended on a gasp as a second slick finger slid inside him next to the first. They moved achingly slowly, pumping leisurely in and out, stretching Arthur a bit more with every pass.

Without realizing it, Arthur’s hand slowed down to match the rhythm set by Merlin’s magical digits. Once the sensations of his hand and Merlin’s were in sync, Arthur felt his excitement spiral even higher.

That was when the feeling of Merlin’s mouth entered the fray, latching onto the head of Arthur’s cock to gently suck as if Arthur’s hand was not even there.

The dual sensation of Merlin’s mouth on his prick and those magic fingers buried in Arthur’s arse was sinfully hypnotic and hot. Arthur forgot entirely what he was supposed to be doing and his hand fell away slack against his inner thigh.

However, when Arthur let go, all the sensations abruptly stopped as well. “Keep…stroking…Arthur…” Merlin’s voice, utterly wrecked, panted at him.

Not even able to think around the haze of arousal blanketing him, Arthur just nodded and brought his hand back to his rock hard cock and began to stroke. Immediately, all the sensations returned in full force: questing fingers pushing deep within Arthur while that incredible mouth moved to surround his entire length. His prick moved in and out of that delectable wet heat at exactly the same speed and rhythm as his hand…it was maddening. The heat grew hotter, the precipice growing ever taller as he hovered right at the edge of ecstasy.

And then those phantom fingers curled inside of him and brushed against the spot that always drove him wild.

“Fuck!” Arthur cursed, his hand suddenly renewing his punishing rhythm as he felt that flash-fire heat again and again. And still it wasn’t _quite_ enough to make him come.

Arthur slouched low in his chair, his head tilted back so far that his neck was curled over the top of the chair, exposing a long expanse of his throat. A long, guttural moan tumbled from Arthur’s slack lips as he felt Merlin’s mouth suckling the side of his jaw, even as he felt those same lips still surrounding his cock.

The corresponding groan from Merlin just excited Arthur more, knowing that somehow Merlin was just as affected as he was…that they were sharing this exquisite torture. “ _Gods_ , Arthur…” Merlin croaked hoarsely, “I can’t take any more of this! Please! I want to fuck you…please, _please_ let me…”

Too far gone now to still care about who was supposed to be punishing whom, Arthur had no willpower left to say no. “Yes!” he hissed, practically begging, “ _Fuck_ , yes…”

Arthur half expected to be lifted with magic, moved and disrobed somehow so that Merlin could mount him…but no, even now Merlin kept to his word not to touch him physically. Instead, even as Arthur still stroked himself, he felt the phantom fingers slide out of his hole and something that felt exactly like the head of Merlin’s cock prod against his entrance instead.

He sucked a hissing breath through his teeth as he felt Merlin’s length slide into him in one long, deep, perfect stroke. There was no stretching or pain, just soothing warmth and slick fullness. And still those lips sucked Arthur’s cock in time with his hand motion, the tongue swirling patterns up and down his length, pushing against the underside of the head before swiping across it.

And then the motion began; the magical prick pistoning in and out of Arthur at the same punishing pace as Arthur’s wanking. Every single thrust was angled to hit that sensitive spot inside of him, making Arthur’s toes curl and his heart feel like it was trying to escape his chest.

Even as Arthur felt Merlin’s fingers grasp his hips firmly, holding him in place while Merlin pounded into him, Arthur could also feel those same fingers tweaking at both of his nipples. They were also buried in Arthur’s hair, yanking him closer to yet another pair of full, pouty lips as they teased his own open, a warm tongue breaching Arthur’s mouth in time with the cock punishing his arse.

Now on sensory overload, Arthur could no longer think; he could only feel and react. Gooseflesh raised all over Arthur’s body as yet another mouth bit at the sensitive spot at the base of his neck, alternating between the sting of teeth and the balm of tongue, sending shivers up and down his spine. Adrift on a tidal wave of need, Arthur’s hand moved by instinct alone, coordinating and synchronizing the magical seduction that swept him ever higher.

Out of nowhere, Merlin’s voice broke through his consciousness. It was so raw with unbridled passion that Arthur barely recognized it. “ _Gods_ …I..” he stuttered incoherently, “Arth…ah, _fuck_!” Fingers dug into the flesh of Arthur’s hips even as they tugged at his hair. Lips sucked a bruise onto Arthur’s neck even as they tightened around his cock. And the movement into Arthur’s arse broke into frantic thrusting as the first tremors shuddered down the hot, slick length.

As his own name became a mantra on Merlin’s lips, Arthur realized…this was Merlin—or rather Merlin’s magic—coming inside of him. Although he knew it wasn’t physically possible, Arthur could actually feel Merlin’s come filling him. A new but somehow still familiar sensation became trapped inside Arthur’s body, as if he had become the vessel for all that glowing energy. It buzzed down every nerve ending like a lightning strike…

And then Arthur was coming, too…screaming Merlin’s name and spurting in great white ropes that coated his still pumping hand, his chest, and his trousers. Wave after wave of glorious, unadulterated pleasure sang in his veins unlike anything he’d ever felt before in his life.

Slip-sliding down the other side of the crest, Arthur distantly felt his entire body go limp, listing off the side of the chair bonelessly. The soft, dark oblivion of “little death” called to Arthur, a phenomenon he’d heard tell of but never experienced personally before today. Such was his bliss that he couldn’t even find it in himself to care that he was about to crash land onto hard stone.

Before his body could make impact, familiar arms caught him up and laid him gently against a chest heaving just as hard as his own. Sweet, dear hands brushed Arthur’s sweaty hair back from his forehead and soft lips pressed against his temple again and again. It took several moments for Arthur to regain his bearings well enough to realize that Merlin was speaking.

“Please forgive me, Arthur; I beg you,” Merlin breathed raggedly into his hair and against his ear. “Don’t shut me out; please …I can’t live without you. I love you.”

Arthur no longer doubted that at all. With the tiny amount of strength and coordination his body had regained, the fingers on one of Arthur’s hands twitched and stroked soft spiral patterns against where they lay on Merlin’s bare forearm. His voice barely a whisper yet, Arthur tried to shush Merlin’s distressed rambling. “Shhhh….it’s all right, Merlin. It’s all right. Yes, I forgive you. Shhhh.”

Knowing he wanted to look Merlin in the eye when he said this, Arthur forced his eyes open and a tiny smile tipped one corner of his lips as their gazes collided. “I love you, too.” Though his eyes remained blue, Merlin’s eyes were alight with fierce adoration and devotion.

Arthur waited a moment, loathe to break the spell, but then he added, “But, Merlin…no more lies; no more omissions. Promise me.”

Solemnly, Merlin nodded, still holding Arthur close as if he would never let him go. “I promise.”

His mouth forming an even wider grin, Arthur began innocently, “Oh, and Merlin?”

Merlin pecked a kiss against Arthur’s forehead and asked, “Yes?”

“The next time I decide to test your abilities as a warlock, please remind me that perhaps I ought to lie down first…” Arthur finished dryly, his eyes twinkling.

Merlin’s peals of delighted laughter echoed around their chamber as Arthur’s hand slid up into his warlock lover’s hair and pulled him down for another kiss.


End file.
